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St. Ambrose University graduate Angie DeLost holds 8-year-old Jake Grys during “the big reveal” part of an “Extreme Home Makeover” episode. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

Ambrose grad helped family's dream come true

Stephanie De Pasquale

Mar 20, 2009

St. Ambrose University graduate Angie DeLost holds 8-year-old Jake Grys during “the big reveal” part of an “Extreme Home Makeover” episode. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

It took three years of letters, petitions and news stories, but
St. Ambrose University graduate Angie DeLost finally succeeded in
convincing ABC-TV’s “Extreme Home Makeover” to transform the lives
of the Grys family.

Steve and Jean Grys have been foster parents to more than 250
children, specifically taking in babies with special needs. The
couple adopted three of those babies, adding them to a family that
already included their two biological children.

The youngest, Jake, 8, has osteogenesis imperfecta, or brittle
bone disease and dwarfism. His bones are so fragile that even the
two small steps leading into the family’s living room could be
fatal if he fell down them.

DeLost was at the St. Ambrose campus in Davenport on Friday for
a viewing of the TV series episode, which was broadcast in January,
and to share her experiences working with the show as Jake’s
occupational therapist. Jake was unable to make the trip as
scheduled because of medical complications.

“He felt really, really bad that he couldn’t come,” she
said.

“But he is doing fine today.”

DeLost graduated from the St. Ambrose occupational therapy
program in 1998 and met the Grys family when Jake was 18 months old
while she was working at Easter Seals in Peoria, Ill. Every three
to four months for three years, she sent ABC a collection of DVDs,
pictures, press clippings, petitions and anything else she could
put together on the boy and his family.

Last year, the “Extreme Home Makeover” producers finally
answered. While the family was at Disney World, the reality TV show
demolished the Grys’ house and replaced it with one nearly twice
the size, including an elevator instead of steps, and a special bed
and bathroom for Jake so he could sleep on his own.

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The crew even had a floor-level sink custom-made so Jake could
wash his own hands for the first time without assistance, but when
the faucet was installed, it was DeLost who made sure it would work
for the boy’s needs.

“I looked at the plumbers and said, ‘Guys, you have to turn (the
faucet) 90 degrees or he can’t use it,” she said. Even though the
plumbers had just finished a 12-hour shift, they happily turned the
faucet, she added.

Since the construction crew left, part of DeLost’s job has been
to help with further adaptations needed for Jake to become
independent, such as finding a device to help him squeeze a tube of
toothpaste or installing a video security system so the boy can see
who is at the front door before he opens it with a floor-level
handle.

“I’ve been working with him on those things that we didn’t think
of and ABC didn’t think of to make sure he was 100 percent
successful,” she said.